As more information is digested from Apple's last quarter earnings report published Wednesday, new insights are gleaned into what Apple has been doing with its operating capital in recent months.

Promisingly, Apple has invested substantial sums of cash into innovating. At least, that would appear to be the case based on how much money the company has spent on R&D. Based on new reports surfacing Friday, Apple's appetite for R&D has accelerated dramatically in recent months.

All told, Apple spent $1.42 billion on research and development during its second fiscal quarter of this year, which ended at the close of March. If you're not keeping score at home, that's more than $300 million more than Apple spent on R&D the previous quarter.

Speaking to the issue of R&D spending, Apple's Corporate Comptroller Luca Maestri made it clear Wednesday that Apple is focused squarely on the future. And that means more than just current product refreshes. New hardware and related services are on the way. "We are continuing to invest heavily in R&D for current revenue generating categories as well as future products and services," Maestri said earlier this week.